In co-pending application, Ser. No. 798,159 filed Nov. 15, 1985, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,660,555 issued Apr. 28, 1987, there is disclosed an improved unilateral system for supplying supplemental oxygen to a patient. That application also discloses an improved oxygen tube holder which has a base of arcuate shape adapted to be mounted on a support patch and in which the support has a central retaining electrode or button. The holder of that application preformed the oxygen tube into a curved configuration, between pairs of tube grippers or holding fingers.
The particular tube holder as disclosed in the pending application has not been entirely satisfactory in clinical tests. The curved tube holder, mounted on a metal button or electrode of a skin patch, at times provided insufficient support for the tube and permitted the nosepiece to drop free. Further, its placement and use was sometimes found to be awkward, and as a disposable item, its cost was relatively high by reason of the two-part construction. The holder did not provide ease of adjustment of the oxygen tube after insertion into the tube supports.
Accordingly, there is still a need for an improved oxygen tube holding patch which is easy to use, which permits ease of axial and rotational adjustment of the oxygen tube after the patch has been placed on the patient's face, which supports the tube with an upward thrust toward the nasal cavity, and which is low cost and universally applicable.